Towel dispensing cabinet



Jan. -18, 1938. p PARSONS I 2,106,108

TOWEL DI SPENS ING CABINET Filed Feb. 25, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 18, 1938. p PARSONS 2,106,108

TOWEL DISPENSING CABINET FiledFeb. 25, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 18, 1938 UNITED STATES TOWEL DISPENSING CABINET Philip D. Parsons, Swarthmore, Pat, assignor. to

Scott Paper Company, Chester, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 25, 1936, Serial No. 65,694-

1 Claim.

This invention relates to towel-dispensing cabinets, and'.a principal object of the invention is to provide a cabinet-that shall be characterized by simplicity and compactness of form and lightness of weight, and that shall-incorporate high? ly eflicientmeans-for feeding the towels successively into a position from which they maybe readilywithdrawn from the cabinet.

To this latterend, anotherobject of the inventionis to provide a .novel. and improved device for exerting pressure at the back of the towel-pack tending-to advance the towels successively into the aforesaid withdrawal position, said device being-adapted to exert a unidirectional 1 force insuring maintenanceof the towel pack as a. whole and of the-individual towels in a predetermined normal position within the cabinet.

Afurtherobject of the-.invention'is to'provide in a cabinet of the stated character a pressure go plate device that will fold back without direct hand manipulation into the operative position in the normal loading operation, as hereinafter more fully described.

A still further object of the inventionis to 35 provide a cabinet having a novel formation at the delivery end'facilitating withdrawalof, the towels.

Still another object of the invention is to pro.- vide a novel form of locking device formaintain- .30 ingthe parts of the'cabinet in the relatively closed positions.

The invention further resides in certain novel structural features and details hereinafter described and illustrated in the attached drawings,

. 5 in'which:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a cabinet made in accordance with myinvention;

Fig. 2 is vatransverse sectionalview showing the cabinet in the'open or loadingposition;

: Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line-3--3 of- F-ig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the cabinet in the closed and fully loaded condition;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional View showing 5 the cabinet after a majority of the towels have been withdrawn, and

Figs. 6 and '7 are detached views in. perspective of elements of the pressure mechanism.

With reference to the drawings, the cabinet 50 comprises a back member I in the form of a plate, this back member being adapted to be secured against an upright supporting surface and having apertures therein for reception of securing screws 2 or other suitable fastening elements.

55 The plate I comprises at its upper edge a forwardly projecting: flange 3' having therein an'aperture 4, the function of which will be hereinafter described. The back" plate further comprises-at the side edges thereof flanges 5, 5 which in the present instance terminate; short of the upper 5 and loweredges of the plate.

Secured at the lower edge of the back'member .I by means ofhinges 6, 6 is a front member I in the form: of a receptacle, the front wall 8 of this front'memberhaving a longitudinal'slot- 10 ted opening: 9, saidopening as shown in Fig. 1 extending substantially the full length of the member.. It will benoted thatthe front wall 8 isbowed'outwardly from its outer edges toward the edgesof the opening 9, this construction having a function hereinafter described. It. will be noted'furtherthatthe'pintles ll of the hinges 6 are. arranged'inwardly of vtherear edges of the bottomwalll2 of the front member 1, and that the'front member is so. dimensioned that when in the elevated or. closed position, as shown for example inFigs. 4 and 5, it.will entirely embrace the backmembenthe location of the pintles ll being such thatthe rear edges of the top, bottom and side walls of the front member I when in the closed position will lie substantially flush with the rear. surface of the back plate I, and accordingly withv the Walter other'surface to which the said-back plate is secured. At the inside of .the top wall l3 of the front member I is secured .30

a spring arm I4; this arm being. provided 'at its freeend which lies adjacent the rear edge of the said wall IS with a rounded portion l5, which when the front member I is in the elevated or closed position engages in the aperture 4 0i the fiange'3'of the back'member I to thereby releasably retain the-.front'member in the elevated position.

At the forward side and: adjacent the lower edgeof thebackmemb'er'l is a pair of forwardly 40 projecting; flanges l6; [6, these flanges, being spaced laterally; andnproviding; a support; for a pin I! which constitutes a pivotal mount for an arm 18, this arm taking the form in the present instance of a plate having at opposite sides rear-- 5 wardly projecting flanges l9, 19. The flanges 16 are in the present instance formed as integral pressed-out portions of the back plate I, and the pin H which pivotally supports the arm l8 passes through the flanges IQ of the said arm.

1 To the outer end of the arm [8 is pivotally secured a pad 2|, this pad in the present instance taking the form of a metal plate the upper and lower edges of which are turned rearwardly as illustrated. Lugs 22 extend rearwardly from the side edges of the pad 2| and are pivotally connected, by means for example of loose rivets 23, to the flanges IS. The pad 2| has at its rear side and adjacent the upper end thereof a lug 24 which is connected by a rod 25 to 2. lug 26 on the forward face of the back plate I. The rod 25 extends in parallel relation to the arm l8 and is in effect pivotally connected to the lugs 24 and 26. The arm 25 accordingly forms with the arm l8 a link connection between the pad 2| and the back member I such that in all posi-. tions of the arms I8 and 25 with respect to the back plate I, the pad 2| is maintained in parallel relation with the back plate. Normally the back plate I will be secured against a vertical surface so that the pad 2| will also be maintained in a substantially vertical position. The pad 2 which is adapted to move between. a fully retracted position, shown in Fig. 4, and an advanced position remote to the back plate and immediately adjoining the front wall 8 of the front member 1, is resiliently urged toward this advance position by means of a coiled spring 21 supported on the pin l1 and having end portions 28 and 29 respectively engaging the arm |8 andthe back member I. The fully advanced position of the pad is determined by the beveled edges |8a of the arm l8 which by engagement with the back member acts as stops to limit the advance movement of the pad. It will be noted that the arm 8 comprises an opening 3| which when the arms and the pad 2| are in the fully retracted position as shown in Fig. 4 receives the lower back-turned edge of the pad 2|, thereby permitting the pad to lie flush against the forward face of the arm l8.

The cabinet is adapted to be charged or loaded with a towel pack 32, as shown in Fig. 2, the front member I being moved downwardly about the hinges 6 into the substantially horizontal position for the charging operation. The individual towels of the pack are folded in such manner that a free edge is exposed through the slot 9 so that the towels may be readily grasped by the fingers and withdrawn through the slot. In assembly, the towel pack-occupies the position shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the individual towels occupying vertical planes with their lower edges resting upon the bottom wall l2 vof the front member 1. The towel at the front of the pack is held in engagement at its upper and lower edges with the front wall 8 of the front member, as previously set forth, with thefree edges thereof exposed through the slot 9. The outward bowing of the front wall 8 relieves to some extent the pressure at the exposed edges of the towel so that these edges may be readily grasped by the fingers for withdrawing the towel. The pad 2| bears flatly against the rear surface of the pack and exerts a uniform forward pressure, since the positional relation of the pad 2| with respect to the pack 32 does not vary, regardless of the number of towels that may be withdrawn. There is no tendency for the pack or the remnant of the pack after a number of the towels have been withdrawn to move from its normal position, so that the position of the individual towels with respect to the slotted opening 9 is maintained throughout, as shown for example in Fi 5.

It will be noted that in the normal closed position the cabinet is free'fro'm exposedjoints, the back member which is secured to the wall as "described being entirely embraced by the front member so that only the smooth continuous surfaces of the latter are exposed. The cabinet accordingly presents an extremely desirable neat appearance. Thepressure device which forces the towel pack forwardly in the cabinet is efficient in operationand is free from the objections of prior devices of this character which tend, particularly when the towel pack has been reduced to small'dimensions, to cause a displacement of the towels in the cabinet. preventing ready withdrawal of the towels. Furthermore, this type of pressure plate is readily returned to its rearward position without any direct hand manipulation, since the act of closing the filled or loaded cabinet restores the plate to its original position without fouling the contents. The locking device is simple in form but eiiicient in operation, and isreadily releasable by a forward pull upon the front member. to. permit this member to drop to the charging position, asshown in Fig. 2.

There may be modifications in the detail structure without departure from-the invention as defined in the appended claim. 1

I claim:

In a towel-dispensingcabinet, a casing having a front wall provided with a delivery opening,

and means for feeding the .towels forwardly in y .the casing into position for withdrawal through said opening, said means comprising an arm mounted on a fixed pivot at the back of the casing, a pad element pivotally connected to said arm and fiatly'engaging the towels at the back,

stantially parallel relation to said front wall, said arm,.link and .pad constituting a completely operative spring-actuated unit having engagement with the casing only through the, pivotal connections betweenlsaid casing and said arm and link.

PHILIP D. FARSONS. 

